NFL to start handing out suspensions for vicious hits

The formal announcement on stiffer penalties for dangerous hits will come from the NFL by Wednesday, according to ESPN.

Here is Ray Anderson, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, in the ESPN report:“We can’t and won’t tolerate what we saw Sunday,” Anderson said Monday. “We’ve got to get the message to players that these devastating hits and head shots will be met with a very necessary higher standard of accountability. We have to dispel the notion that you get one free pass in these egregious or flagrant shots.”

Going for the head is an obvious. The question is how are the NFL powers going to identify “devastating hits”?

Another question: Even in the name of player safety, do you want to outlaw hits like these? No one wants to see anyone hurt (right?), let alone suffer a catastrophic injury, but how much can you legislate a violent game without changing it’s inherent nature?

Put it this way: How many of these hits would now be deemed illegal? Actually some of the hits in the old-school black-and-white clips should have been criminal. (Warning: Profanity in the soundtrack.)

7 Responses

These idiots on ESPN who are defending the intent to injure hits aneed to be shut up. I have some shutup juice for them. First, Trent Dilfer is a complete idiot by commenting on a position he never played.

Well, if these geniouses are correct then lets eliminate the horsecollar rule …the chop block… the roughing the quarterback ….etc rules.

These players that lead with their head are told to do so on superstars…like Desean Jackson.

Put Dilfer and the other morons in the place of a lineman who gets chopped and out for his career.

I’m 265 lbs and let me hit Dilfer head to hea or head to his knee and watch him cry like nobody’s baby.

No, no, no! The NFL has already taken away the defenses ability to defend by not touching a receiver after 5 yards. They have taken away the DL’s ability to sack a QB from the neck up and the waist down. When will the NFL realize that the players are millionaires and they have the right to refuse to play for the money they make. I’ll take the shots the receivers take for the money they make. Surely my career would be short lived but I would take the money in a great economy. I don’t make the money these guys make on a signing bonus in a lifetime! Hell, I would step up in the ring with Mike Tyson in his prime for the money these guys make!

What happened to the defense owning the middle of the field? “You can’t enter this zone without paying a price!” This is the game… These are the rules. Play at your own risk… If you are good enough to get from the college game to the pro game you accept the risk or walk away. Play at your own risk and you will be well rewarded for it. Otherwise, get a normal job. That’s why the fans pay the big bucks for a ticket!

There was some major league hits in that video! I felt my neck snap just from watching those hits. Football has always been the most dangerous sport. I can’t count all the concussions,players that have been parylyzed or hurt for life. I think it is a great idea to suspend players who violate the dangerous hits rule.

My concern, borne out by how they have meted punishment in the past, is that the NFL won’t consider intent and that they will just look at the outcome. Certainly protecting a player from injury should be the number one priority. However, I think the decision-makers in suits and horn-rimmed glasses, should be informed about physics and momentum, reflexes and instincts, intent and accident. Two or more bodies are colliding at impossible and constantly changing angles and if they just look at the end result, they risk impeding the game itself. Go after the malicious and intentional hits, sure, but so far this year they are fining pretty much willy nilly. For example, the hit by Pierre-Paul on Zach Follett may or may not be finable because his head did dip. But clearly there was no intent to injure and for that to end up as a suspension would be wrong.

Just as with the rest of our super-alarmist American culture, the NFL will try to address a perceived “rash” of unpleasantness by over-reacting……And the league will miss the point, as most do-gooder, knee-jerk reactions normally do.

What does the high dementia rate among ex-players who were never the target of these types of hits mean, then ?? Mike Webster is a perfect example. Many, many small collisions over a long period of time caused one of the most scary cases of dementia, in his case.

Once again, the NFL “suits” lack the basic understanding of both physics AND the game. Every guy on that field is enduring these small collisions time and time again. Its the nature of the game.

Any update on whether the league will take action on Jim Leonhard’s violent, viscious chest-bump push-out of Brandon Lloyd ?? Rediculous garbage.

Where was Chuck Bednariks hit on Frank Gifford ?
I imagine back then some of those hits warranted $40.00 fines.
There were some collisions in that footage. I noticed they even got a kicker in there making a good pop.

#5 hit the nail on the head. This is the nature of the game; it’s a violent sport. While I don’t wish injury upon any player, there is risk in playing this game. I suppose if one could truly determine intent of the player administering the hit, a suspension program would make sense. My concern is (a) a lame call like that against Jim Leonhard could lead to a suspension, (b) just by nature of the game there will be helmet to helmet contact with no intent, and (c) ever since Goodell failed to suspend Belicheck for cheating but has no qualms about suspending players who are not charged of crimes, I question his integrity in the area of determining suspensions.